Dental lighting system

Abstract

A dental lighting system ( 10 ) for selectively illuminating a treatment site ( 12 ) on a patient sitting on a treatment chair ( 14 ). The system includes at least one monitoring device ( 32, 32 ′) configured to determine characteristics of a treatment site ( 12 ) on a patient and at least one lighting unit ( 22, 24 ) configured to generate an illuminated area ( 34 ) onto the treatment site ( 12 ) by emitting a first light beam ( 36 ) in an upright state in which the treatment chair ( 14 ) is in an upright position and by emitting a second light beam ( 38 ) in a lying state in which the treatment chair ( 14 ) is in a lying position. The at least one lighting unit ( 22, 24 ) is configured to set a shape of the illuminated area ( 34 ) based on the characteristics of the treatment site ( 12 ).

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A dental lighting system for selectively illuminating a treatment site on a patient sitting on a treatment chair, comprising:
 at least one monitoring device configured to determine characteristics of a treatment site on a patient; and 
 at least one lighting unit configured to generate an illuminated area onto the treatment site by emitting a first light beam in an upright state in which the treatment chair is in an upright position and by emitting a second light beam in a lying state in which the treatment chair is in a lying position, wherein 
 the at least one lighting unit is configured to set a shape of the illuminated area based on the characteristics of the treatment site. 
 
     
     
       2. The dental lighting system according to  claim 1 , comprising:
 a first lighting unit configured to, in the upright state, generate the illuminated area onto the treatment site upon emitting at least one first light beam; and 
 a second lighting unit configured to, in the lying state, generate the illuminated area onto the treatment site upon emitting at least one second light beam, wherein 
 the first lighting unit and the second lighting unit are configured to set a shape of the illuminated area based on the characteristics of the treatment site. 
 
     
     
       3. The dental lighting system according to  claim 2 , wherein, in the upright state, the second lighting unit is prevented from emitting the second light beam, and in the lying position, the first lighting unit is prevented from emitting the first light beam. 
     
     
       4. The dental lighting system according to  claim 2 , wherein the first lighting unit and the second lighting unit operate independently from one another. 
     
     
       5. The dental lighting system according to  claim 1 , wherein the lighting unit is movable or pivotable relative to the treatment chair between a first position and a second position, wherein the lighting unit is configured to move into its first position when the treatment chair is in the upright state and to move into its second position when the treatment chair is in the lying position, and wherein the lighting unit is configured to, in the first position, generate the illuminated area onto the treatment site upon emitting the first light beam and, in the second position, to generate the illuminated area onto the treatment site upon emitting the second light beam. 
     
     
       6. The dental lighting system according to  claim 2 , wherein an angle between a horizontal plane and the first light beam is not more than 30° and a further angle between the horizontal plane and the second light beam is at least 60°. 
     
     
       7. The dental lighting system according to  claim 1 , wherein the characteristics of the treatment site include at least one of a location of the treatment site, a depth of the treatment site, dimensions of the treatment site, or a contour of the treatment site. 
     
     
       8. The dental lighting system according  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the at least one lighting unit comprises a projector. 
     
     
       9. The dental lighting system according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one lighting unit is configured to set a focus of the at least one light beam emitted by the at least one lighting unit based on the characteristics of the treatment site. 
     
     
       10. The dental lighting system according to  claim 1 , wherein the monitoring device is configured to determine characteristics of the illuminated area, and wherein
 the at least one lighting unit is configured to adjust the illuminated area based on the characteristics of the illuminated area. 
 
     
     
       11. The dental lighting system according to  claim 1 , wherein the monitoring device is configured to locate a non-illumination site, and wherein
 the at least one lighting unit is configured to generate the first and second light beam such that the illuminated area does not fall onto the non-illumination site. 
 
     
     
       12. The dental lighting system according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the at least one lighting unit is configured to project information onto at least one display area upon emitting at least one further light beam onto the display area, and wherein the display area is distinct from the illuminated area. 
     
     
       13. The dental lighting system according to  claim 12 , wherein the at least one lighting unit is configured to emit the first or second light beam and the further light beam such that the further light beam has a different focus compared to the first or second light beam. 
     
     
       14. The dental lighting system according to  claim 13 , wherein at least one of the at least one lighting unit comprises an optical system configured to selectively direct light emitted by a light source either towards a first lens component to generate the first or second light beam or towards a second lens component to generate the further light beam. 
     
     
       15. The dental lighting system according to  claim 14 , wherein the at least one monitoring device is configured to detect gesture or motion commands of a person in a field of the display area or to obtain treatment data during treatment procedures.